Despite the fact that well-done steak is tough, dry and flavorless, there will always be people who insist on having their steaks cooked that way. You can reason with them all you want, but it's not going to change their minds.
You could take your beautiful strip loin or porterhouse steak and cook it well-done for them. But this is a crime against meat. Don't ruin your expensive steak this way. After you've gone to the trouble of selecting the best meat, seasoning it properly and prepping it for the grill, the last thing you should want to do is destroy it by cooking it well-done.
What's so bad about cooking a steak well done? It all comes down to temperature. The longer you cook a steak, the hotter it gets, and as it heats up, the muscle fibers get firm and all the juices cook out.
The result is that the interior of a well-done steak is a uniform gray color, and the steak itself is tough, chewy, flavorless, and dry. This isn't cooking; it's arson.
Why Not Well-Done?
A well-done steak is defined as a steak that's been cooked to an interior temperature of 160 F or higher.
What happens when a steak—any steak—is incinerated to that extent is that it becomes tough and chewy and devoid of any juiciness whatsoever. It could be the finest, dry-aged, lusciously marbled USDA Prime beef. But if you cook it to 160 F, it's compost.
What about food safety? Isn't that a good reason to cook steaks all the way through? Actually, dangerous bacteria like E. coli don't live on the inside of a steak. They might live on the surface of a steak, but cooking the outside of the steak will kill them. Burgers are another story. To be safe, ground meats should be cooked well-done. But medium-rare or even rare steaks don't present any particular food safety hazard.
Having said that, you're not going to win an argument with someone who, for whatever reason, wants their steak cooked well-done. Plus, it's bad form to argue with your guests, right?
Your Guest's Absurd Request
If your guest insists on a well-done steak, there are a couple of tactics you could employ to deal with this difficult situation. You could try to cook the steak medium-well, which is one notch less done than well-done, and hope they can't tell the difference.
A medium-well steak is cooked to an interior temperature of around 150 F to 155 F. The interior will be mostly gray but with just a faint streak of pink at the very center. If you dim the lights when you serve it, they might not notice.
Even if you could get away with it, though, this is still a waste of a good steak.
Your best bet is to buy an inexpensive steak, something tough and lean like a sirloin steak, round steak, or rump steak. Cook it over medium heat for about 12 minutes on each side, and serve that to your guests. It's going to taste like a cinderblock anyway, so why throw away good steak (and good money) on someone who'll never taste the difference?
This isn't snobbery, it's economics. There's really no excuse for cooking a good piece of meat past 145 F.
FAQs
Well-Done: “You are straight to the point and no nonsense. You know how you like your steak (burnt as hell) and there's no second guessing you.” “You're a quality over quantity type of guy. You appreciate the finer things in life – in this case it's a smaller, lean tenderloin cut.
Is it okay to eat a well-done steak? ›
It's Dangerous To Eat Well-Done Steak
Cooking your steak at rare (135 degrees Fahrenheit) is enough to kill bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella. However, the high temperature it takes to cook your steak well done can cause a reaction that produces chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCA).
Do chefs refuse to cook well-done steak? ›
Why you shouldn't order well-done steak. Anthony Bourdain's scoffing aside, most chefs capitulate to a customer's requests, even if it makes them squirm. It comes down to personal preference, after all, and they realize that overcooked steak is often part of a generational divide.
Why is well-done steak frowned upon? ›
So further cooking of steak means tense meat that is less juicy, and less flavorful. Now that we've objectively established that cooking a steak past medium-ish will scientifically make it less pleasant to eat, let's just go ahead and say it is the incorrect way to cook a steak.
Why do chefs rest a steak after it is cooked? ›
The center of the steak becomes supersaturated with liquid—there's more liquid in there than it can hold on to—so when you slice it open, all that extra liquid pours out. By resting the steaks, you allow all that liquid that was forced out of the edges and into the center time to migrate back out to the edges.
Why are people obsessed with medium rare? ›
There is a reason that medium-rare is the most popular way to cook a steak. A medium-rare steak is juicy, tender, and packed with flavor. When you cut a medium-rare steak, you'll see that the meat is pinkish on the outside and a deeper red inside, but not so red that it looks like raw beef.
What percentage of people eat their steak well done? ›
Yes, 24% of those surveyed prefer to have their steak cooked 'well done'. Just behind at 23% is 'medium rare'. The rest of the results were: 16% said 'medium well', 13% picked 'medium', 11% like theirs 'rare', 2% picked 'burned' and 2% said 'blue rare', which is VERY rare. 8% of those surveyed don't eat steak.
What type of people like rare steak? ›
Rare meat is for “true carnivores” who enjoy meat's natural flavor profile. Medium-rare and medium sears are the “sweet spots” when cooking meat. If you go to the best restaurant in Daytona Beach , waiters will typically recommend steaks in the medium range.
What's healthier, medium-rare steak or well-done? ›
Health-wise, it's actually possibly better for you to eat a steak that is less cooked. Vitamins A and B6 are found in abundance in rare to medium-cooked steak, as well; a steak cooked to perfection is a fantastic source of minerals like iron. These things are essential to the health of your muscles and skin.
Can filet mignon be well-done? ›
To cook a rare filet mignon, let it come to 115℉ before resting. For medium-rare steak, let it come to 120℉ to 130℉ before resting. Medium steak = 140℉. For medium-well steak, cook it to 150℉ and a well-done steak should reach 155℉ to 160℉ before resting.
“Well done” in French is “bien cuit” But if you want a well done steak cooked the American way, you will ask for “un steak très bien cuit” .
Why do people complain about well-done steak? ›
It all comes down to temperature. The longer you cook a steak, the hotter it gets, and as it heats up, the muscle fibers get firm and all the juices cook out. The result is that the interior of a well-done steak is a uniform gray color, and the steak itself is tough, chewy, flavorless, and dry.
What is the argument for well-done steak? ›
Cooking it well-done would make it easier to chew and digest. Others argue that this method was born out of concerns for food safety, as cooking the meat for longer periods of time was believed to kill bacteria. Regardless of its origins, the well-done steak has remained a popular choice for many people.
How should a steak be cooked Gordon Ramsay? ›
Throw the steak on the cast iron, and let the steak sizzle for about 1 minute, then flip. Keep flipping every minute. Once the internal temperature hits 105ºF, add some butter, rosemary, thyme, and garlic cloves to the skillet, and let it all come together. Scoop some butter over the meat now and then.
What steak is best well done? ›
Ribeyes are extremely popular because they have a great flavour and texture but if you order it rare then the fat and gristle will not get a chance to render down and flavour the meat. We recommend that you order a a ribeye medium and if you like your steaks well done, this is the one for you.
How to cook the perfect steak well done? ›
Rather than oiling the pan, brush the steak with oil to prevent it sticking. Cook a 2cm-thick piece of steak for 2-3 minutes each side for rare, 4 minutes each side for medium, and 5-6 minutes each side for well-done. Turn the steak only once, otherwise it will dry out.
What does well cooked steak mean? ›
Well done cuts, in addition to being brown, are drier than other cuts and contain few or no juices. Note that searing (cooking the exterior at a high temperature) in no way "seals in the juices", since water evaporates at the same or higher rates as it does in unseared meat.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/cast-iron-steak-recipe-5498568-hero-01-58d9416ce4af4784aa9aa61ed4414bd8.jpg "Well-Done Steak: a Criminal Act (1)")
